Weekly Market Analysis / 6-10 February 2023

Global markets were active last week. US non-farm employment and the US Federal Reserve (Fed), Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decisions came to the fore. In the first meeting of 2023, the Fed slowed the rate of increase in interest rates in line with the expectations and increased the policy rate by 25 basis points to the range of 4.50-4.75%. Fed Chairman Powell said he thought further increases would be appropriate until inflation hits the target. In line with the expectations, the Bank of England (BoE) increased the policy rate by 50 basis points to 4%. The bank signaled that further increases could occur. In line with market expectations, the European Central Bank (ECB) increased interest rates by 50 basis points, raising the overnight deposit rate to 2.5%, the overnight lending rate to 3.25% and the policy rate to 3%. The bank has directed that a similar move will be made for March as well. Nonfarm payrolls in the US rose by 517,000, above expectations. Thus, the highest increase in employment was recorded in the country since July 2022. While gold has been priced above $1,900 for weeks, it closed the week with a price of 1,864 from the highest price of $ 1,918 with a sudden decrease after the positive news from the USA